from Africa News blog:

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The African Union has moved its July summit to the Ethiopian capital after Malawi blocked the attendance of Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the bloc said

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Kidnappings targeting foreign workers in Sudan for ransoms have become a dangerous phenomenon in Darfur in the past year with 10 separate cases and at least 22 expatriate victims.
These are not the al Qaeda kidnaps of West Africa. The Darfuri criminals so far have demanded money and have not killed any of their victims. Some have threatened to sell their captives onto al Qaeda-linked groups if they do not get paid.
The abductions have severely restricted the operations of those aid and U.N. agencies still working in Darfur, with foreigners mostly relocated to the main towns and rarely travelling into the rural areas where people are arguably most in need of help.
The question always debated by Sudan watchers is: "Is it that Khartoum can't protect foreign workers in Darfur or that they won't?"
Many point to the timing as an indication -- these politicised abductions became a regular crime after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in March 2009.
Others speculate that the government, which has long had a hostile attitude to the international humanitarian agencies in the world's largest aid operation in Darfur, does not want them to travel and report on the worsening situation in the rural or more remote areas. This is one way to prevent that.
But the problem now negatively affects the government too, making them look weak and unable to control even the region's main towns.
Russia voiced rare criticism of its African ally after three members of a Russian aircrew were taken from the middle of Darfur's largest town Nyala, just days after another Russian pilot was detained by Arab militia loyal to the government.
The Russian envoy said it was clear Khartoum was unable to control the security situation, striking a blow to Khartoum's argument that the conflict in Darfur and the "isolated" cases of banditry are under control.
Nyala, Darfur's largest town and economic hub, was largely insulated from the brutal revolt and counter-insurgency campaign which has for seven years terrorised Darfur's inhabitants. Now it is the epicentre of the abductions, with criminals taking foreigners from inside their guesthouses or in the town centre in broad daylight.
Fuelling the kidnaps are constant reports of Khartoum paying money for many of the hostages, another expensive reason why the government would want to end the crimes. Kidnappers told me hundreds of thousands of dollars had been paid out to abductors.
The government says they know who these kidnappers are - their tribes and their families. They threaten to arrest them.
But the threats appeared empty as after the release of the longest-held hostage ICRC staffer Gauthier Lefevre when there was a two month kidnap-free window, no action was taken to prosecute or bring the kidnappers to justice.
Cue the abduction of Samaritan's Purse Flavia Wagner two months after Lefevre's release. She then endured a 105-day ordeal alone in captivity with her kidnappers threatening to rape or kill her on numerous occasions. And new spate of shorter kidnaps also began.
Those who support the theory that the government is sanctioning the kidnaps ask why they have not apprehended any of the criminals.
But Khartoum is not in an easy position.
The kidnappers are usually young men from mostly Arab tribes - the same powerful tribes who Khartoum mobilised to help quash the Darfur rebels.
One government official told me they feared any attack on the young Arabs would provoke the entire tribe -- already disillusioned by the government who they feel has not delivered on promised development and services -- to defend their own.
The local government in Darfur is often run by those from the same tribes as the kidnappers, creating a reluctance to act against them and risk losing their support base. In remote regions far from Khartoum, the tribe provides and therefore rules.
Central policy set in Khartoum is not always in the interests of the Darfur state authorities run by the governor and vice versa.
But it seems that Khartoum's interests are now clearly in line with the international community's - to stop the kidnaps.
Some officials in Khartoum are convinced action must be taken to stop the crimes. And in the last kidnap, the army acted quickly -- closing down on the kidnappers before they could whisk their victims away to a desert hideaway.
Again now Khartoum has a brief moment of kidnap-free time to apprehend the abductors as threatened. The world will be watching closely to see what they do.

Kidnapping foreign workers in Sudan for ransom has become a dangerous business in Darfur in the past year with 10 separate cases and at least 22 expatriate victims.

from Africa News blog:

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It's a well-established fact that peace talks can spark fighting. I remember before every round of doomed peace talks on Darfur since 2003, either the govenment or the rebels would start a tactical military campaign to gain ground ahead of any potential settlement determining what areas their forces controlled.
But the violence in the past week in Darfur's camps for 2 million Darfuris displaced by conflict is different.
It would be easy to blame the mediation who convinced more than 400 members of civil society to join a Qatari-based peace process which the two main rebel groups are not present at.
Some Darfuris after seven years festering in miserable camps decided the rebel leaders were unable to represent the interests of their people and went to make sure their voices were heard.
It was their return to the rebel-dominated Kalma Camp in South Darfur housing 100,000 people and the camps surrounding Zalingei in West Darfur sparking the fighting which claimed at least eight lives, injured dozens and drove thousands to flee the camps they had sought refuge in years ago.
But to only blame the mediation would ignore the problems they inherited which almost amount to a mission impossible.
Rebel commanders have been splitting to form dozens of factions for years disillusioned with their leaders, most of whom were young and inexperienced before being propelled into the international limelight as Darfur's conflict went global.
Those factions are drowning in a sea of personal conflicts and individuals' desire for power while the people they went to war to protect are arguably worse off than before the revolt and Darfur has descended into a chaotic, anarchic, violent mess neither Khartoum nor the rebel leaders are able to clean up.
International intervention has also worsened divisions. Diplomats say U.S. envoy Scott Gration wanted to find a way to break Darfur rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) leader Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur's hold over the IDP camps.
He began to help smaller factions hoping to cut of the head of Nur's support, the diplomats said. The camp violence is just one manifestation of that policy. Nur's stronghold Jabel Marra descending into intra-rebel fighting killing dozens and forcing tens of thousands more to flee this year was another.
Talks in Qatar are now solely focused on a new rebel coalition of tiny factions with few forces on the ground albeit with an impressive ex-U.N. Economic Commission for Africa staffer Al-Tijani Sese brought in to lead them this year.
Sese, from a leading Fur tribe family, has garnered some positive reaction in the camps, sowing the seeds of dissent against Nur which manifested itself into the violent confrontations in Kalma and Zalingei in July.
While the mediation's idea that Sese would help bring the camps on side was based on good faith, the reality alienated the two main Darfur rebel groups and divided the camps.
Further impacting the mediation's efforts is the government's continued military action which prompted JEM rebels to walk out of the talks and Khartoum's clear disregard for the only rebel leader who did sign a 2006 peace deal in Abuja, Minni Arcua Minnawi, who has yet to be reappointed to his post as presidential assistant since elections in April.
Darfur's peace process has disintegrated into a bewildering mess of conflicting personalities and interests which appears to have sight of the goal of achieving a sustainable peace so those in the camps can go home.
Sudanese have a trait often confusing to outsiders. They can be sworn enemies, fighting to the death one minute. But the next day they will breakfast together, cracking jokes over foul (beans). It's all about interaction. But right now Khartoum, the rebels and the Darfuri victims could not be further apart.
After seven years of negotiation yielded little progress, maybe the mediation should forget protocol and pomp and allow the Sudanese to approach the talks as only Sudanese can.

It's well-known that peace talks can cause fighting. I remember before every round of doomed negotiations on Darfur since 2003, either the govenment or the rebels would start a military campaign to gain ground ahead of any potential settlement.

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Preparations for Sudan's general elections -- due to start tomorrow -- were thrown into confusion over the past two weeks as opposition parties issued contradictory statements over whether they were boycotting the polls.